The Immortal Jack
by Stutley Constable
Summary: Jack the monkey is waiting. But what is he waiting for? Post AWE. PAIRINGS CHALLENGE


**Legal Note:** I do not own any of the characters associated with Pirates of the Caribbean. I do not have any legal right to use them or any other proprietary words originating from these movies. This story was done just for the fun of it. Not for profit. If you like it please tell me. If you don't like it please tell me why with particulars but not excessive detail.

**Author's Note:** In September of 2009 I expressed to my friend Pirate-on-fleet-street an interest in writing a few oneshots with unusual pairings (ones that are not Sparrabeth or Willabeth). We decided that it would be fun to cooperate on such an undertaking. This story and eleven others are the products of that venture. We hope you will enjoy them.

**Summary:** Jack the monkey is waiting. But what is he waiting for? **PAIRINGS CHALLENGE**

**The Immortal Jack**

The house overlooked the harbor of Tortuga. It had stood the test of time and every hurricane the sea and winds had mustered. Yet, it's ancient walls and the timbers of its roof held strong and steady. In one window a small shape sat staring out to sea.

"Roger," A pretty young woman said. "What's wrong with your monkey? He's been sitting there for days. Won't eat anything but peanuts."

Roger looked up from his newspaper. "He gets like that from time to time, Sally. I remember my grandfather saying that he was waiting for something."

"Your grandfather?" Sally was incredulous. "How long have you had him?"

"Well the house has been in the family since the seventeen hundreds," Roger's tone was casual.

"Yes. You told me that," Sally said puzzled. "What's the house got to do with the monkey?"

"Monkey came with the house," Roger went back to his paper.

Sally plopped down next to the young man and punched him lightly on the shoulder. "You're teasing me. Monkeys don't live that long."

"That one has. My grandfather got him from his grandfather and so on. All the way back to the man that built this place," Roger lowered his paper again to smile at the girl. "I'll tell you a family secret if you promise to keep it between just you and me."

"Oh, I love secrets!" Sally beamed. "Tell me."

"My great, great grandfather was a pirate. Not just any pirate either. Captain Hector Barbossa," Roger leaned in on the last word as if trying to keep anyone from over hearing the tale. The monkey had turned his head at the mention of the pirate.

"Barbossa was a myth. And your name's Barber." Sally pushed him back playfully.

"The family changed it in the mid eighteen hundreds. All the stories and rumors made people nervous," Roger explained. "You've heard the legend of how he went and found the cursed Aztec gold and all that."

Sally nodded. "My da used to tell us that one when we had fires on the beach. It's just a ghost story."

"It's a true ghost story. When he got the gold, he got the monkey. I don't know all of the details but that's consistent in all of the stories in the family," Roger said. He was warming to his tale now. "Anyway, when the curse was broken the monkey somehow stayed with Great Granddad Hector. They went on a bunch of adventures and when Hector settled down and took a wife he built this house. Eventually he died and so did his wife. The house passed on to his son and so on down the line. Jack, the monkey, stayed with the house. I remember playing with him when I was a kid."

"So you have a three hundred year old monkey?" Sally said doubtfully.

"Yeah. A little older than that I think," Roger smiled confidently.

"So he's waiting for something?" Sally pressed.

"The Green Flash." Roger looked to where the monkey sat in the window.

"Is that a super hero?" the girl chuckled.

"The Green Flash comes at sundown just as the sun meets the ocean. They say when you see the Green Flash it means a soul has returned from beyond the grave."

"Oh... now you're being ridiculous. People don't come back from the dead," Sally turned as if to get up but paused just as a flash of green shot through the window. The monkey stood on his hind legs and gave a happy screech then bounded for the door. A moment later there came a loud knock. Roger stood, crossed to the door and opened it a crack. Sally saw his eyes go wide and he stepped back letting the door swing in but not fully open. Sally couldn't see who had knocked.

"Ah! There's me Jack!" Came a harsh yet delighted voice. "Who's me good boy?"

For his part Jack bounded up and down doing a somersault or two then sprang up for whoever it was at the door. Pleased noises came from the little monkey while the man's harsh voice whispered baby talk to the little creature.

"Will ye not be invitin' me in, grandson?" The visitor demanded.

"Um... Yes. Of course," Roger pushed open the door to reveal a tall bearded man dressed in a broad brimmed hat, black jacket, pants and tall boots that came right from an Errol Flynn movie. "Won't you come in, Grandfather Hector?"

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Additional Note: If you enjoyed this story and wish to read the other stories in this challenge you can find them on my profile and on Pirate-on-fleet-street's profile.__ fanfiction(dot)net/u/1931701/_


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